Neon Genesis Evangelion: Mind of Metal
by English Bob
Summary: Name changed due to cofusion with 'Iron man' series. After 3rd Impact, the Eva pilots must once again face the reality of combat, but who is the enemy?....Chapter 2 finally up, sorry for overdueness...and that made up word....plz review!
1. Prologue and Background

**Disclaimer: **I don not own the following: Neon Genesis Evangelion, Robot Warlords, Armored Core, any other ideas I may have stolen, from anyone.

This is a prologue to a story I'm considering writing, it gives a bit of background to the world in which its set and the technology behind it, so just give it a look and tell me what you think of the scenario, organisations, technology etc. etc.

Most of the stuff is stolen from various other sources, as I said in the disclaimer. So please don't eat me….please…..

For all spelling and Grammar mistakes I apologise in advance

**NGE: Ironman**

**Prologue**

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**ENSIS**

ENSIS is an organisation formed pre-second impact, around the same time as GEHIRN. Unlike GEHIRN, ENSIS was founded by members of the UN opposed to Keel Lorenz and SEELE. Its existence is kept an absolute secret from all non-essential personnel; instead it does its dealings through a string of front companies. ENSIS has bases spread all over the world, but its central command centre is located in a purpose built facility in Siberia, disguised as part of an old soviet missile complex.

At first it was simply intended to be a tool for spying on the activities of GEHIRN and SEELE, but as evidence emerged of their true intentions in Antarctica, ENSIS' role changed to that of a military organisation. It mobilized to put a stop to GEHIRN and its activities in Antarctica, but the assault force arrived too late to prevent second impact.

After second impact, when GEHIRN became the new military organisation NERV, ENSIS was tasked with further investigating its activities. When the Evangelion project was discovered, plans were made to create a rival to this powerful weapon. Utilising past research into Arcolight technology, the Advanced War Engine (AWE) project was begun.

By the time of the first angel attack the project had succeeded in developing the first Advanced Arcocore Engine Unit, or ACU for short. While early tests were promising, the scientists found that their was a limit to how far the technology could be pushed without directly linking a human with the Arcocore. They began experimenting with partial neural links, but they found a curious similarity between the ACU's and the Evas, they could only be piloted by those born after the second impact.

Just before the attack of the tenth angel, ENSIS' pilot recruitment project, Piper at the Gates of Dawn, had found a large number of potential candidates for the first generation ACUs, and testing had begun at a special facility in South Africa, when ENSIS reached a breakthrough in developing the second generation Arcocore units. They had finally developed a way of creating a complete neural link between pilot and machine through the development of the 'Infinity Circuit'. The problem was the great mental stress imposed upon a pilot when initially connecting to the Arcocore. The group of young candidates chosen as pilots for the 2nd gen. ACUs all had one thing in common, a certain degree of 'mental instability', which led to one officer referring to them as "a bunch of psychos, maniacs and madmen". The ACUs they pilot have come to be known as 'Ironmen' due to the fact that they are almost entirely composed of metal, and unlike Evas have no 'organic' components whatsoever.

Tests with the ACUs begun just before the attack of the fourteenth angel, and continued until spies uncovered the plans for SEELEs mass produced Eva units. Production of the stable 1st generation ACUs was accelerated. However, before ENSIS could make a move NERV initiated third impact unexpectedly, and once again they were caught off guard. Third impact occurred.

**Prologue**

A few months after third impact when Shinji Ikari had rejected instrumentality, humankind had re-emerged form the sea of LCL, and a new globalised government born from the ashes of the old UN had undertaken the rebuilding of human society. Luckily, apart from a relatively small area of Japan that had become an extension of the Pacific Ocean, the world's cities and landscape had largely returned to normal. Even the climate had reverted back to pre second impact patterns, and Antarctica had begun to freeze once again.

For the Eva pilots, it should have been the end of their trials. The NEF (New Earth Federation), had agreed with the pilots that their role in the third impact would be kept secret, and they could continue to live their lives in a normal manner in the new city of Tokyo-4, renamed NeoTokyo by popular vote.

However, the discovery of Units 01 and 02 at the bottom of Tokyo-3 bay meant that they were required to once more take up the mantle of Eva pilots. The NEF chose to re-establish NERV, under the command of Kōzō Fuyutsuki, as an anti terrorist organization. Several nationalist and separatist factions sought to regain 'independence' from the NEF, through any means necessary.

ENSIS has restarted its ACU program, and is currently initiating tests on the infinity circuit to reduce mental stress. It too is working as a militant wing of the NEF, designated for fighting large scale engagements, its existence until such a time as its required still remains a closely guarded secret.

SEELE has reappeared; however, its leaders now no longer have the power of the UN behind them, and are suspected to be funding many of the terrorist groups against the NEF. The plans for the MP Evas still remain in their hands.

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The next section gives a bit of detail on the new technology that will appear in the fic, so skip it if you get bored of that sorta thing.

**Arcolight Technology**

Arcolight technology relies, as its name suggests, on arcolight. Arcolight was discovered when ENSIS scientists were investigating the AT-Field phenomenon. They found that AT-Fields were partly composed of a strange particle that was unlike anything seen before. This particle was called Arcolight, because of the way in which they work, they can create an 'arc' of light between them, and from this they can actually create energy, something believed impossible. The scientists failed in their efforts to replicate an actual AT-Field, but succeeded in creating something which would prove to be far more useful, an Arcolight generator.

Through much extensive testing, the research team managed to manipulate the Arcolights to create a field similar to an AT-Field. They eventually created a way of manipulating the Arcolights using the human mind, via a link to a specially designed computer. They found however, that attempting to create a link between the computer and the human mind caused great mental stress to the user, and that it created a permanent link between man and machine. This killed the test pilots, as there was no way their minds could handle talking to the computer directly. The scientists then found a way of creating a partial link to the computer, which only focused a small part of the pilots mind into the generator.

Arcolight generators produce arcolight fields, which act as a shield around their source. They can neutralize AT-Fields to some extent, depending on their strength, but the main purpose is to provide constant power to whatever is linked to the generator, where the Arcolights are most active.

Arcocore

Arcocore refers to the central system of an ACU. The Arcocore is comprised of the arcolight generator, the link computer, life support, all main systems and the cockpit.

There is a difference between 1st gen. cores and 2nd gen. cores, the first has only a partial neural link between pilot and machine, which enables the generation of an arcolight field and assisted running of weapon systems. The second has a full neural link, which bonds the pilot permanently to the unit and incorporates a more powerful computer. These cores can create a more powerful Arcolight field, and allows the pilot to manipulate it around the machine.

**ACUs**

_First Generation Units_

In appearance the first generation ACUs look similar to the mech on the cover of the ps2 game **_Robot Warlords,_** and stand approximately 2/3rds the height of an Eva. They have basic Arcocore capabilities, and the command models have radio jammers built into the head section. The cockpit is buried in the upper chest. Standard coloring is field grey, with command units painted in black.

They move in a semi fluid manner, not with the ease of an Eva, and do not require an external power source due to the effects of the Arcolight generator. In combat, they rely on using ranged weapons, as their speed makes hand to hand combat unfeasible.

_Second Generation Units_

In appearance the second generation ACUs differ from each other, each one based on the same basic model but with varying additions. A good representation of a second gen. is the picture on the cover of the ps2 game **Armored Core 3** (yes I know, steal, steal, steal, but hey, that's what a disclaimer is for). All units have in built radio jammers, and fully active Arcocores. They stand the full height of an Eva, and move in a fluid, if heavy, way. They cannot 'jump' as an Eva can, but instead use jet boosters. They also incorporate several basic weapon systems as standard, including machine cannons and arm blades. There is no standard coloring, this will be specified later. The cockpits are fixed within the cores, with a complete eject sequence that would destroy the unit if used. They have both long and close range capabilities, but can be specialized for either.

**ACU Armaments**

Brief description of the weapons that will appear in the story (if written…) this list is in no way definitive, some may be added later on in the story.

ACU Standard Assault Rifle-A burst fire assault rifle, built for range with medium power, standard armament of 1st gen. ACUs.

ACU Heavy Support Cannon-The cannon fulfils the role of a heavy weapon. High powered and designed for use against other ACUs. 1st gen weapon.

Axus Machine Cannon-A chain gun mounted on one arm, it requires a large amount of ammunition in a prolonged engagement. Often chosen as a commander's weapon.

Axus Heavy Rifle-Single shot rifle designated for sniper use.

DUA Automatic rifle-Standard automatic rifle of second generation units, built for power, not range or accuracy

DUA Assualt cannon-Similar to the rifle, but longer range and higher accuracy.

Axus missile system-Shoulder mounted missile system designed for use with the 2nd gen. units

Chainblades/Handarms

A chainblade is a hand held weapon that is similar to a kind of chainsaw. In appearance, they often represent bulky single edged swords, with the cutting edge being replaced by one, or two chainsaw blades that move in opposite directions. ACUs also utilize a range of knives and blades similar to the progressive knife, but not as strong.(if you look up 'chainswords' on Google you'll see what I mean)

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A/N:That's the explanation done, sorry if it reads a bit like a Wikipedia article, but that's sorta what it was based around. I'm not trying to make the Evas look obsolete, on the contrary the story will most likely revolve around the Evas and their pilots but this whole thing was to introduce the world in which the story takes place, rather than have to explain everything as it appears later on.

Anyway, ill see what people think of the scenario before I start writing, because id like to have some idea of which angle to take with it, so please leave a review.

As for updates, that kinda depends on how much interest there is, but I'll probably pick it up in about a week, because I'm going to try and write something within this universe I've created…….long authors note……


	2. Chapter 1

Thank you for all your reviews, I wasn't expecting that many form just some background info, so I'm happy

I decided to get a chap up as quickly as possible, because the last had very little actual 'content' so to speak. I've also changed the name to stop the confusion between this fic and a crossover with 'Iron Man', a brilliant series in its own right, but not what this fic is about. The name came mostly form the Black Sabbath song 'Ironman', and I failed to realize that this could be seen as a crossover fic. So for that, I apologize.

As for ACCs, there will be quite a few of them, especially in this chapter, but many of them will only play token roles and will be second fiddle to the original cast. The mech system may seem simplistic, but will be expanded later on.

For all spelling and grammar mistakes I apologize in advance, and for the cheesy chapter title, I just couldn't come up with anything better

"Blah"-speech

"**Blah"**-Tannoy/announcer

'_Blah'_-thoughts

**NGE: Mind of Metal**

Chapter One

All Quiet on the Eastern Front 

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Shinji sighed and rolled over. It had been days since he'd gotten any proper sleep, his dreams always disturbed by flashing images, Eva, blood, Lilith, Rei. Turning over once more he finally realized sleep was never going to come. Slowly, he levered himself from his bed.

He got changed as quietly as he could, taking care not to slam the door behind him, the last thing he needed right now was Asuka beating him senseless.

'_She's been doing that less lately'_ a brief afterthought of his as he grabbed his coat.

He made it out of the small house undetected, and began walking down the street. He looked around in the early morning gloom at the quiet suburb. Asuka had wanted somewhere nearer to the centre, but Misato had insisted on this, and Shinji could see why. He idly kicked a stone from the grass, and winced as he heard it clatter down a drain.

'_It's been 6 months, and I still can't even begin to forget'_

Asuka, for her part, had been a lot more sympathetic to him lately. She'd even agreed to stop smacking him on a regular basis, but still reserved it for 'special occasion'. Shinji rubbed the back of his head at that thought, last night had been a very 'special occasion'. Shinji still hadn't remembered the broken lock on the bathroom door, and when he'd decided to go for shower he'd got an eyeful of Asuka. Make that two eyefuls…and a bucket. He'd be nursing his head for weeks.

Shinji shivered as a gust of wind blew down the street. The chill of the Autumn was something entirely new to him. He thanked kami for his coat, Misato had got it him, it was a long black affair, the kind you see in old gangster films. In fact, he was rather pleased with his new wardrobe.

He'd woken up one morning about to weeks ago to the smell of burning. He'd lept out of bed to discover the source, fearing a fire. Instead, he'd found Asuka and Misato outside standing over the smouldering remains of his old uniform, chanting something in German. When he'd asked about it, Asuka said it deserved a Viking funeral.

He reached the end of the street and stopped. In the distance he could hear the soft rumble of the local tramline waking up. He liked his new home. Despite its name, NeoTokyo was actually a small, calm city, built as a sort of monument to the regeneration of the region. The suburb where Shinji and his 'Family', he considered them family, lived was situated on the outskirts, near an old forest. He enjoyed walking around the country, but as he thought of it he remembered his trip with Asuka that she'd planned for the weekend. She was determined to drag him to this new shopping complex, and when he'd protested she'd reminded him of one of his 'special occasions'. "Besides, if you don't come who'll carry my bags baka?" was what she'd said and that had ended the matter as she shut her door in his, still protesting, face.

He sighed again, a happy sigh before turning back towards the house. It was too late to go back to bed now, he'd just make a start on breakfast, maybe make something really special, after all they had more synch tests in the afternoon.

Eva, how he'd ever found the strength to get back that…thing…he'd never know, Asuka had played a part. She'd been willing t get back into her unit, even after the pain she'd suffered while inside it. Her strength had sort of inspired him; maybe it was because of something else too. She seemed to calm him, and shake him up all at the same time. He shook his head.

"Yeah, keep dreaming baka boy" he said to himself as he opened the door "keep dreaming"

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**Siberia**

ENSIS Facility-Staff Liaison office

Major Mukuro was not a happy man. He rubbed his forehead and tapped the table with his pen a couple of times. No, he was not a happy man. He slicked back his greying hair again in an attempt to look less dishevelled. He kept taking nervous glances at the clock. His office was windowless, it being underground, but it didn't make him feel any safer.

A knock at his door made him jump.

"Come in" he said with all the force he could muster

The door slid back to reveal a woman in her mid-thirties, dressed in the same black military uniform Mukuro was.

"Oh thank god it's just you Kana"

"Hiding, are you?" Her voice had a clear American accent

"No, just waiting"

"For what? The apocalypse? How long have you been 'waiting' then?"

Mukuro took another look at the clock "Er… ten, twenty, forty minutes….."

"You're a bloody coward Vance, a bloody coward"

"Can you blame me! The guy's mental!! Fucking insane!"

"True, anyway, stop your waiting, I've been sent to rescue you"

"Hmm? Rescue me?"

"The commander wants us to get up to Main Control, the NEF wants to have a 'chat'"

"Great, out of the frying pan and into the fryer, still, I might come out with my limbs intact"

"I wouldn't count on it, they want him to talk to NERV"

"In that case I'm going to wait a bit longer"

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ENSIS facility-ACU Hanger West

"_**All ACU pilots report to main control, all ACU pilots to main control"**_

"Worse than a bloody supermarket"

The comment came from a young man sat on the arm of an ACU at the far end of the hanger. He was fairly tall, with a large build and black hair. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of aviators. He sighed and stubbed the cigarette out on the grey metal before jumping down onto the walkway. He turned to look at the machine.

Its left arm was missing, scorch marks ran up the side of its body. The head on the thing was bent to the right, as though it had broken its neck.

"Dunno how ya can see anythin' through those ya know"

The man turned to see another young man, dressed in technicians overalls walking up to him.

"It's a gift" the pilot replied.

"Ya kiddin, no one in dere right mind wood eaver give ya a gift"

"Shut it Marco" He'd never managed to place the technicians accent. The staff had held a competition, but still no-one figured it out. The guy came from Canada for chrisake.

"Ya bust er oop preety bad no?"

"Not mine, it was Dremmons. He made an elementary mistake during tactics"

"Oh, what sorta mistake"

"Pissed off Sergeant Kaevan"

"Oh" Marco shook his head "He still alive den?"

"Just, can you fix this thing?"

"Just leave it to me an me little elves, she'll be right as rain" The tech smiled an evil smile and took out a large wrench.

"Marco, sometimes in think you're the unstable one"

"_**Sergeant Arvus to main control, Sergeant Arvus to main control"**_

"That's my call"

"See ya round ma friend"

With that the tech turned back to the ACU, and motioned over a couple of other mechanics from their work. Arvus began moving briskly through the hanger to main control. The commander did not look kindly upon lateness.

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ENSIS facility – Conference room

Mukuro took a deep breath before pressing the door lock. The computer recognised him and the door opened too reveal a large room that was mostly taken up by a gaint conference table. On the wall opposite was entirely taken up by an array of screens. Most of them showed various tactical maps and plans, but the central view held the image of an old man dressed in generals uniform.

"Ah, Majors, you finally condescended to join us, do please, sit down"

The commander had a strong military voice that was somehow unaccustomed to asking politely. Mukuro and Kana quietly took their seats on one side of the table. Other officers in various states of discomfort were also sat around. Several risked nervous glances at their leader. A tall, imposing man, although somewhat advanced in years, Mukuro often got the impression that he was trapped in a world just a bit too small for him. Currently he was staring intently at the central viewer.

"Corporal, activate audio visual" His voice sounded like a barely contained growl

The corporal sat in the corner jumped at the mention of her name, before typing something into the control panel behind her. The central screen sprang into life. The man in the image retained his frown.

"Ah, General Fraser, I'm amazed that the NEF has time for us nowadays, you seem so busy" The sneer was evident in the commander's voice.

"Hmph, You appear a bit too complacent, Ingram. Do not forget it is the NEF that lines your pockets"

"What is it you want General, we have a busy schedule to adhere to"

"The NEF, in the interest of global security, wants all former government military organisations to 'talk'. We do not want a case of the left hand not knowing what the right is doing."

"Are you suggesting ENSIS relinquishes its A-10 security status, surely you understand that this organisation is built on secrecy"

"That was in the old world commander, this new Earth requires a united effort, and the NEF does not need any skeletons in the closet. That is why I am not suggesting that ENSIS relinquishes anything, but I am ordering it to interface with other organisations"

"Heh, let me guess, chief among these 'other organisations' is NERV?"

"Correct, as two of the world's most powerful military assets, it is within the interests of the people that you understand one another"

"But General"

"That is an order commander, we are aware of how much an ACU costs, and that money could always be better spent elsewhere. Just get a delegation together and organise a meeting with NERV, Fraser out" With that the screen went black.

Everyone in the room was holding their breath, several where leaning away form the commander, who kept clenching and unclenching his fists rhythmically.

"Captain, prepare a team, technicians, staff, pilots, whoever. You leave for Japan within three hours. Dismissed"

The assembled officers began to file out, before Mukuro could leave however, the commander turned and said.

"Actually, remind the captain to take Kaevan with you, if we have to talk we might as well scare them shitless"

Mukuro nodded as he left and shivered as he imagined having to talk to the pilot.

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A/N:Well, there you have it; it's not very long, but I did write it pretty quickly. Sorry if there's not enough of the original characters, but that storyline picks up in the next chapter. This will be primarily centred around the Evas and their pilots, but these ACCs will keep appearing, mostly because they are central to the plot.

Anyways, please leave a review and the next update should be sometime this week.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Yo! Er…okay, no-ones here, but… well, never mind. I must sincerely apologise for the slightly, okay, overwhelmingly extreme delay of this chapter. Several outside factors have contrived to put my life in the cosmic equivalent of a blender over the past few months, so my writing sorta fell by the wayside. Some people would argue that that's the best place for it…but I know where they live… anyway, I digress.

Thanks for the reviews, the few that there have been, and to answer your question, yes, there will be pairings, currently it looks very SxA, but nothing ever stays the same for long in this plotline…maybe that would help…a plot…All the pairings haven't been figured out yet, currently there are no OC/ACC pairings, I might stay that way, who knows?

So, here's the chapter. It's been re-worked more times than I care to imagine and it still hasn't turned out how I'd like. Shinji's OOCness can probably be attributed to reading to many web comics, namely 'Untitled!' and 'The Whiteboard'. Perhaps the first more so than the second….still, Shinji being hit in the head with a giant mallet, not out of the realms of possibility….

For all spelling and grammar mistakes I blame Bill Gates. Er, only in a non sue-able way of course.

"Blah"-speech

"**Blah"**-Tannoy/announcer

'_Blah'_-thoughts

**NGE: Mind of Metal**

Chapter Two

Another day, different agendas

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Main control was the centre of the ENSIS facility. Similar to central dogma, main control still wore the trappings of a different era. Although filled with the latest communication and control systems, one wall still bore a giant red hammer and sickle. A common feature around many of the older parts of the facility. The commander had never got round to ordering its removal, so instead it had been gradually covered by screens and charts, but its presence could still be felt through the entire room.

The control was divided into two parts, an elevated command deck, from which the facility and all operations were run, and a lower deck, which served as an all purpose briefing and assembly area. This area was currently being filled by the amassed ranks of ACU pilots; all dressed in the standards ENSIS black uniform. The curious thing about all the pilots was that they were all in their mid-teens, just like the Eva pilots.

As the senior officers approached the pilots were shouted into file by the sergeants, no older than the pilots themselves, and stood smartly to attention. They stood in groups of five, called squads, which were then arranged into three units consisting of three squads each. At the end stood a group of eight pilots who bore two red flashes over their left arm shoulder guard, the second generation pilots. These two squads were missing their sergeants, and were instead being commanded by two corporals.

Arvus rounded the corner, only to be met with the grinning face of Mukuro. He tried to go from full run into a salute, but failed and fell onto the floor at the liaison officers' feet. Dragging himself up, he attempted to make himself look as presentable as possible, but only served to make him appear even more dishevelled.

"Sir!" he threw an uneasy salute, desperately trying to stay on two feet.

"Sergeant, running late?" Mukuro asked, his grin never slipping.

"Sir" It was a well known fact that Arvus despised the liaison officer intensely, and the feeling was entirely mutual.

"The commander won't be too happy, I mean, Kaevan has an excuse, but you're, well, just late"

"Sir" Arvus' voice was barely above a growl, he knew Mukuro was milking this to the full.

The rest of the pilots were being briefed by the Captain, the two second generation squads were to accompany the delegation, while a third squad was to stay on standby should the need arise.

"Now, you know as well as I do that a week in the brig is what you'll get if the commander hears of this, but if I was to give you a reason for this absence, well, he might overlook it perhaps?"

"Sir" Whatever Mukuro wanted, it was probably better than the brig.

"I need you to fetch your fellow Sergeant, the commander specifically said he was to accompany the delegation, and I know he'd consider you a 'friend'. I think its best if he hears about this trip to NERV from you yes?"

"Sir! Yes Sir"

"You know where to find him, dismissed sergeant"

"Sir"

With that Mukuro left to talk to the captain. Arvus headed off in the other direction, towards the brig, muttering as he went "Spineless piece of shit, still at least it ain't cleaning the entire east wing like last time, what an arsehole"

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"BAKA!"

"Argghh!!"

For the second time since breakfast Shinji Ikari was sent flying backwards by the force of an angry German fist. Actually the fist was only slightly irritated, but the feeling was the same on his part.

'_All I did was __suggest__ that it would be better if she maybe covered up a bit more? And she flies off the handle and accuses me of ogling her!'_

Luckily for Shinji, Misato had entered the kitchen, drawn by the smell of food and the thought of beer. Her first instinct after entering the room was to tell Asuka to stop beating/berating/teasing Shinji, delete as applicable.

"Mmm, smells good Shinji-kun"

Shinji had managed to stand back up, and was steering clear of a glaring Asuka.

"Er…Misato…that's the dishwasher"

"It is?..I need a beer"

After having got said beer from the fridge Misato proceeded to down the can in one go.

'_Some things never change'_ both children silently thought.

After breakfast Shinji offered to clear the plates away, partly out of courtesy, but mostly so he could get away from Asuka's burning gaze.

'_I still gotta survive a tram ride later'_ was what went through Shinji's mind. He severely hoped that the short walk to the stop would calm his tuetonic housemate down, but he doubted it.

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The brig was located in the lower south wing of the ENSIS facility, in the section that had become known by pilots and staff alike as 'The Labyrinth'. It was the oldest part of the facility, being built sometime in the 1800s as a hideout for Russian Cossacks. It had subsequently been added to, improved, blown up, repaired, blown up, repaired, abandoned, repaired etc., and as such had acquired corridors that led nowhere, stairs where there shouldn't be stairs, and doors that seemed to open into different rooms every time they opened. It was highly confusing to say the least.

The Labyrinth was the nominal headquarters of the 2nd Generation ACU Division. The pilots had their barracks in the upper, slightly more inhabitable levels, the lower levels held an array of storerooms, workshops, offices and recreation rooms for the various technicians and staff who maintained the second generation units. The lower levels were uninhabited, filled with blocked off rooms, long forgotten soviet research labs and rats. The lowest level, the deepest in the entire facility save for Division Six, held the brig.

Arvus nodded to the two guards outside the cell block, who grunted a reply before they pulled back the iron door to allow him access. He didn't begrudge their foul demeanour, they were probably here on punishment detail after all.

The rows of cells had originally been designed to hold the greatest enemies of communism, the enemies that they could not afford to kill. Many of them were now in disrepair, the rest however, were still foreboding prisons in their own right. Arvus made his way to the end of the corridor where Kaevan had his cell, his own personal one. Sometime in the past some of the newer pilots had painted 'KILLER' and 'LOONY BIN' on the front of the door.

He slid back the bolt and opened the cast iron door. The room inside was completely dark. Arvus stayed in the doorway.

"You should really get a light bulb in here or something can't see a damn thing" He spoke into the darkness.

"I would, but the décor leaves something to be desired" the darkness replied. It had a deep voice, and spoke in a level tone. "What do you want; I was busy counting tiles with my foot"

"The commander sends his regards; he's been talking to Fraser"

"Ha! What'd the old bugger have to say?"

Arvus took a deep breath "He wanted us to talk to NERV"

The darkness' grew darker. "And the Commander agreed?"

Arvus nodded in response. "He wants our teams to accompany the delegation, now, and that includes you"

"To 'scare' them, no doubt" the darkness said sourly.

"That's the gist of it, yes" Arvus took a small, slow step back.

Sighing, a young man stepped out into the half light, he stood a half foot taller than Arvus with matted dark hair that was in need of a wash. His eyes were rimmed with dark circles.

"Christ, how long you planning to stay in there?" Arvus asked his friend

"Month and a half if you hadn't shown up, has Dremmond got out of the med wing yet?"

"He's on a drip, did you really need to use the missiles?"

"I was testing the lock time"

"The chain cannon?"

"Loading exercise"

"And the chainblade?"

"The bastard wasn't following orders, he was in my firing line, and I hate the fucker, so what's that Latin crap 'quant pro quo'?"

"Don't have a clue, better get going, Mukuro's on the warpath"

Kaevan's expression changed to one of mild amusement. "Haha! Late again, you're makin a habit out of that"

"At least I don't have a habit of hospitalizing my fellow pilots"

"That my friend, is because I am the better shot, now, I need a freakin shower before I go anywhere"

As they left the guards edged further away from the door, and tightened their grip on their weapons, it wouldn't be the first time Kaevan had found his way out of the cells.

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**NeoTokyo Hospital**

The rooms were quiet. They would have been completely silent, save for the low hum of the life support machines or the rumble of a distant tram from an open window. The hospital had entire corridors made up of rooms like this, silent, but not empty. Third impact had another legacy; across the globe thousands of people had come back from the LCL, or at least, their bodies had. All of them were in a deep coma; many of them had no identity, only a number attached to them by the hospital staff. They were kept alive in the hope of waking, although many of them had nothing to wake back up to.

One of these rooms contained a young woman with light blue hair, attached to a drip and monitor. The rescue teams had found her the very first day of the operation, floating out on the sea of LCL, and still no one had any clue as to who she was.

The soft hissing and beeping of the machines continued unnoticed by their patient. The nurses had taken to calling her Blue, not just because of her hair, but because of her expression. Her number was #001.

Today, however, the beeping of the machine was not the only thing that could be heard in that room. A soft voice, just audible, was repeating "Ikari…I failed….failed"

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Shinji sat at the tram stop nursing his head. Asuka still hadn't forgiven him for yesterday's incident, and to cap it all off he'd been found in possession of her underwear this morning.

'_I was putting it in the washer! She needs anger management or something'_ he thought while glancing at his friend. She was on the phone to Hikari, and was pacing up and down the platform in an animated fashion. The tram appeared round the corner and people began to line up at the door stops.

"Asuka, tram's here" he called to her.

"I can see that idiot! Geez!" she replied snapping her phone shut.

The tram was fairly packed, Shinji deliberately tried to move as far away from Asuka as possible so as not to be accused of groping her. Luckily this got easier as the journey progressed. The tram made its way through the city and out towards the new NERV base.

The base had been rebuilt on the outskirts of the city, within a small mountain. The facility was completely new, and many parts of it were still under construction. The base served not only as a NERV facility, but as a NEF military strongpoint. Various cranes and building equipment were visible from the tram as it wound its way up the slope towards the terminus. Shinji sighed, turning away from the window he had managed to find a seat next to and pulled piece of paper from his bag. He read the memo carefully, ignoring his housemate as she tried in vain to irritate him by drumming her fingers across the armrest repeatedly. Seeing her tactics failing Asuka settled for moaning instead.

"What the hell are we here for anyway? It's not like we can do anything until they get the rail launch system running properly. How long we gonna be here for?"

Shinji didn't look up, but spoke in a tired tone to his moping friend "We've got a whole battery of sync tests, then some meeting or other. Looks like it'll take up most of the day"

"Arrggh!! More sync tests mien gott!!! That's all they do, test, test, test!!!" Asuka screamed in her annoyance, beating her fist down on the armrest, causing a few passengers around her to move away slowly.

"I don't know hat your worried about Asuka, you always get high scores"

"Of course I do dumpkopf!" she huffed folding her arms and leaning back in her seat, her mood slipping into a sulk "But it's the principle, I mean, gott, school's less of a slave drive than this!"

"For you maybe" Shinji barley muttered the words, but Asuka latched onto them like a shark to blood. A predatory grin came to her face as she leaned in closer to Shinji, causing him to look up in surprise and blush at her close proximity.

"What's that, is the indomitable Shinji Ikari having school problems?" She asked wryly with her twisted smile. Shinji didn't reply, instead he turned his face away. Asuka reclined back, her grin not slipping.

"Relax, baka, I'm sure you'll get through it somehow. Maybe you could ask someone to help you or something?" She had to mentally bite her lip to stop herself from saying 'ask instead. Truth be told she'd gladly help him, she was, and though at times it wasn't very apparent, his friend. But while some of her stubbornness had worn away, she could still not bring herself to offer directly.

Shinji shook his head, deliberately avoiding her fishing attempt "No, I don't think that'll be necessary, I just gotta study harder is all, I've still got a lot on my mind"

Asuka deflated somewhat at his pseudo-refusal to her pseudo-offer of help, but not enough for it to externally show. "Whatever baka-boy" she said folding her arms and looking out of the window again.

The trip continued in relative silence from then on. Asuka resumed her finger drumming, humming a tune of an old song Shinji couldn't place. Finally, the tinny voice of the tannoy announced their arrival at NERV central headquarters and NeoTokyo Military base.

As they got off onto the platform Asuka walked briskly ahead, still annoyed at Shinji's apparent density to her offer. Shinji followed more slowly, shaking his head as he did.

'_I can pilot a giant robot, yet I can't ask for help with algebra. I don't even know what I'm afraid of, despite the obvious physical assault, but I can cope with that__' _he thought solemnly as he passed through the security checkpoint _'…I'm gonna have to look into this psychology stuff…"_

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A/N: There you have it, I'm trying to increase the size of my chapters, but I find I can only write so much before I lose the 'plot' altogether and descend into OOCness and random crazy talk. I find I have to re-work most of my chapters ages after they were written because they are often just assorted ramblings strung together with a weal pretence of a storyline. So yeah….next update? Check your horoscope, maybe if I updated more regularly I might actually build up a fan-base to talk to like this nay? Great, no I'm talking to myself…I need a beta reader…

Watch this space…it bites


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